What Works: Defendants win less than 1% of traffic cases that go to court. So the best chance of avoiding a ticket is in the 60 seconds after being stopped. If the officer goes back to his car it’s too late. Saying, “I know you could give me a ticket,” and then pleading for mercy works 100 times better than arguing.  This way, you’re not admitting guilt, but you are showing the officer you respect his authority, and that can pay off in cases like these.  (This only applies to traffic tickets, not other criminal cases!)